Right knee better, Bynum adheres to plan

PHILADELPHIA — It’s been a week since Andrew Bynum first ambled through PCOM, posing in uniform for media-day photographs with his teammates. In those seven days, Bynum has found a cozy seat to watch practice, and taken half-hearted 3-point attempts and rebounded for the 76ers following practice.

Because this is training camp, Bynum is sitting.

If he had suffered discomfort in his knee during the season…

“I think if all the beans were on the table,” Bynum said, “I’d be out there.”

Monday, Bynum spoke to reporters for the first time since Oct. 1, when the Sixers shut him down from participating in basketball activities. One week down, two to go for Bynum, who said he remains on the team’s three-week timetable and hopes to be eligible to return by the end of the preseason.

Bynum acknowledged that the ache in his right knee, on which he underwent a non-invasive procedure last month, is diminishing.

The 7-footer said it’s feeling better. How much better? While Bynum wouldn’t say whether he believes he can return to the Sixers before the end of the preseason slate, he said his desire is to be available Oct. 31 for the team’s regular-season opener against Denver.

“I think actually a lot of that has to do with my pain threshold where I’m not able to run up and down with the team right now,” Bynum said following a morning session Monday, the last day of training camp.

“It’s tough. It’s a new team, too. I want to be out there. It’d be different if I was still in L.A., where there’s an established rapport. I don’t know my teammates all that well yet. I don’t know their games yet.”

Sixers coach Doug Collins said he’d like to give Bynum, the centerpiece of his offense, at least seven days to get himself up to speed with the team’s offense — that is, once he’s cleared by the Sixers’ medical staff.

Until then, it’s back to being a spectator. Bynum has done just about everything other than play. Videos of Bynum hoisting shots from beyond the arc following Saturday’s practice have eclipsed 15,000 views on YouTube. He’s also been seeing getting rubdowns on his afflicted knee, ride the stationary bike and get in light workouts while the Sixers are on the court.

“I’ve just been really trying to get to know the offense. It’s brand new,” Bynum said. “I’ve got a DVD, so I’m going to watch some tape on it.”

Collins verified Bynum’s off-the-court work rate.

“I see he comes in and he’s got the little wrap and the brace on,” Collins said. “He’s out on the floor, spinning and doing some of the things he didn’t do before. Plus, also, seeing his personality, he’s happy. He senses he’s getting closer to play.

“Anybody who’s ever been injured, especially when you go to a new team where so much is expected, that you have to get out there and play. It’s a downer. He’s worked his tail off. When he’s not watching, he’s doing something — either in the weight room, or the elliptical or working and doing something. You can just sense he’s feeling better.”

Without Bynum, the Sixers lack the inside presence they desired when they completed that four-team trade in August.

The guys filling his spot in the interim have done everything but. Spencer Hawes looked strong from about 15 feet outside, playing while looking at the basket. Kwame Brown lacked polish at both ends of the floor. And Thad Young, another big body, has played primarily as a small or power forward in camp.

The Sixers hope something positive comes of Bynum’s downtime. So does Bynum.

“A little better health, hopefully,” he said, jokingly.

l l lThe Sixers have 18 guys in camp, 14 of whom Collins said he’d feel comfortable playing in a regular rotation. With time winding down – and toward preseason games – Collins said it’s time for the Sixers “to start defining roles.”

So Collins issued each player a card, on which he asked them to jot down what they think their roles should be.

“I said, ‘I want to make sure what I’m thinking and what you’re thinking is in conjunction with one another,’” Collins said. “It’ll be interesting to see how guys assess themselves after a week.

“I told them, ‘If you want to have crisis, if you think you should be doing something different than I’m using you at, that’s going to be built-in conflict right there.’”

A difference of opinion in regard to individual roles might be the cause for such a competitive camp.

“Everybody’s going at each other. People are more hungry,” Evan Turner said. “I’m not saying the guys in the past weren’t, but spots are solidified and everything like that.”